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← back to Blog Archive	It is the second last day, Friday. How did we get here so fast? So a confession. I sometimes get drawn to a band just by their rubbish name. And so I find myself at the backyard of Side Bar at half past mid day to see Death By Unga Bunga. They managed to top their awful name with what might be the least cool person ever to front an indie rock band. Ever. But he did not care and he, just as Spinal Tap did, turned it up to ELEVEN. I give you Death By Unga Bunga. Take them. Keep them. DEATH BY UNGA BUNGA Same venue, next up was one of my Must Sees,from London, another UK Buzz Band and a much touted black feminist trio called Big Joanie. I loved their single Fall Asleep and as a fan of their self proclaimed Ronettes meets Riot Girls sound, I was looking forward to seeing them. But, maybe it was the venue, maybe the belting sun (only day that week), maybe the 1pm time slot, maybe I was expecting too much, but I just did not enjoy the show. I think I was the only one. Check out their brilliant single. https://soundcloud.com/big-joanie/ Back into the Convention Centre to see Broken Social Scene, Again. They can do no wrong. For those who do not know them. They are the best band to come out of Canada in the last twenty years. Great back catalogue to explore. Have fun. BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE Then Jason and I headed next door to the International Stage for what turned out to be, in retrospect, the saddest moment of the week. We went to see another much talked about UK act. The were called Her’s, a two people twin guitar pop rock sound. They were fun and obviously enjoying just playing on stage and having a great audience connection too. Some of you may know their story. A few days later, they were involved in a car crash as they made their way from Arizona to California on tour. Both band members and their manager tragically lost their lives. They were on the verge of breaking through when this horror happened. So sad. I was not sure how best to talk about this, but I decided best thing was to share their music, and bio, so here it is. Check out their lovely lo-fi slacker music. https://schedule.sxsw.com/2019/artists/2004581 HER’S I headed in to the Container Bar which is just as it sounds - a bar made of stacked containers. They always have a prime line up and I manage to catch The Nude Party. Every year there is always a band who rise from the masses with a distinctive sixties sound. Their turn this year and they sounded great. THE NUDE PARTY To the Aussie Backyard BarB Que at Bangers Sausage Restaurant - I kid you not. Another much talked about band appearing there but not before I wasted twenty five minutes watching Two People. In hindsight I could have picked any other two people to watch and listen to and it would have been at least as interesting but I had a comfy seat and I knew the next lot would be special. They were. The two person rock theatre that are The Gooch Palms. Now that is what you want your rock stars to look like. Outrageous bordering on silly with a could not give a shit attitude. And they sounded good too. THE GOOCH PALMS Excitement building……… Back to the BD Riley’s Irish Bar as Fontaines D.C. were going to play there at 5pm. Now as they were officially the hottest band at SXSW we forecast that the place would be jam packed way in advance, not only because they were brilliant but also it is the annual Big Irish Breakfast party at said BDRileys with only Irish acts playing AND it was the day before the plastic paddies go crazy for St Patrick’s Day thing. So we went two bands early - first for me. One we got lucky with - Fangclub, who the acclaimed New Musical Express from the UK touted as “ a fully formed thrash pop monster, melodic, frenzied and phenomenal”. They were. FANGCLUB But the second were easily the worst act I had the misfortune to see ever at SXSW, a two guy Irish white hip hop trash talking piece of crap called Kojaque. It was torture. But to see Fontaines D.C. once again, in a tiny little bar was worth the pain. Fontaines D. C. were simply fantastic. Did I say I like this crowd? FONTAINES D.C. Evening beckons. Change of pace/genre/location/mood. The New Natives Brass Band were as far as you could get from raw Irish punks. They went out on the street to drum up support then stormed into the famous Antones venue to put on a great New Orleans brass band show. A grand time ensued. NEW NATIVES BRASS BAND Back to Latitude 30 to see which Uk band was packing the place out this time, It was Ferris and Sylvester, a pleasant Americana pop sound but not riveting. So on to another Church appointment, to see the gracious Laura Jane Grace, lead of the quite brilliant Against Me, put on a solo acoustic show. Laura is perhaps the most famous transgender female rock star of the current scene. To hear her stories of bullying and discrimination at the hands of school choir and church leaders, whilst performing in a church was quite cathartic. She is a gifted storyteller with a hell of a voice. Check out Laura with Against Me as I did not capture a good video on the night, and anyway, everyone should hear this song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWB_b480-9c LAURA JANE GRACE And so a SXSW run began. To the Japanese Night at the Elysium to see Stereogirl. Now if a band comes from Japan and says their favorite bands are The Smiths, Joy Division, The Stone Roses, Pavement and Televison you need to give them a chance. Great show. https://soundcloud.com/user-835890272 STEREOGIRL Then, finally, a great Scottish band. Rascalton, I had already seen them last year at The Great Escape last year, in Brighton, England, but this was a different set up. In the great little Dive Bar that is Valhalla they put on a mental punk pop show that would not have been out of place in Glasgow in the summer of 1978. Manic. Crazy crowd - must be something to do with this venue - definitely had the most consistently great shows all week. I did see their manager try to whip up the crowd by getting their friends to crowd surf. It worked but it would have happened organically five minutes later. The joint was jumping. RASCALTON I had to go see Bad Sounds for the third time as I wanted to see if the home British crowd at Latitude 30 would love them to death. They did. Another great set from this lot who should be huge in about five minutes. BAD SOUNDS It is around 11.30 at night and I had heard that there was another phenomena to catch before she headed to world domination. Once again, there is always a couple of truly break out acts, female pop diva/disco dance indie queens who make their mark and go on to greater things post SXSW - last year I saw Billie Eilish in a church for example. This year I had yet to see one that stood out. Could it be Miss World? One half of also acclaimed Shit Girlfriend? Well it was a good show and her single Put Me In A Movie was brilliant live, but I do not think she is the one. MISS WORLD Another stable of Austin is the Tucson music scene visiting and this time it was the band XIXA led by Gabriel Sullivan who I seem to see play SXSW every year but always with a different band.(Al, you remember this guy don’t you?) This time he has a sound described by one local radio station as "A deep groove of untamed cumbia, with a side of blistering spaghetti western soundtrack”. And here is what a band wearing more leather than you thought existed sounds like. Pleasant enough. https://soundcloud.com/xixa_tuxon/the-code XIXA It is now midnight on the second last day of SXSW 2019. The moment demands greatness. The moment delivers. To Palm Door on Sabine to see the quite sensational Sir Babygirl. Remember what I said barely a minute ago - "there is always a couple of truly break out acts, female pop diva/disco dance indie queens who make their mark and go on to greater things post SXSW”. Well this is the one. Sir Babygirl is the one!!! She says it best herself- The pseudonymme of DIY pop diva/producer Kelsie Hogue, Sir_Babygirl is unabashedly bubblegum, unashamedly queer pop for a future free of genre boundary and the gender binary. Sir_Babygirl is clearly, queerly the future of pop Just great dance pop anthems. She asked all gay and transgender folk to raise their hands and the room which was already wild went up a notch, then she invited all straights to do so too, before inviting two livewires dancing at the edge of the stage to join her - none other than the mum and dad!!! This was one of the two happiest fun shows of the week!! Loved it. This is the pop music I want to hear all over the airwaves. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0c71QCx4ug SIR BABYGIRL Last show of the day, 1am, and back to Swan Dive to see another of my picks of the week. They are Pottery. I put them on my list simply because they said that they bonded growing up in Montreal with a mutual love affair with Orange Juice, Josef K and Devo ( and for those who do not know it, Orange Juice and Josef K are both from Glasgow, were on the wonderful Postcard Record label and from 1979 through 1982 were two of the leading lights of jangly indie rock). So Pottery made my list. They also made the night with a fairly blistering set which sounded like it actually came from that late seventies scene. Plus, they dressed well with odd haircuts, a bonus. And, they must be on to something as they have just been announced as the support band for Fontaines DC when they play the States in September!! POTTERY It is 2am and I need to go to sleep but another great day. Highlights galore. Yes, Fontaines D.C. and Bad Sounds, of course but also Laura Jane Grace, Rascalton and especially the last two shows of the evening Sir Babygirl and Pottery. As the classic indie rock musical Les Miserables liked to say: “One Day More!!”.

It is the second last day, Friday. How did we get here so fast?

So a confession. I sometimes get drawn to a band just by their rubbish name. And so I find myself at the backyard of Side Bar at half past mid day to see Death By Unga Bunga. They managed to top their awful name with what might be the least cool person ever to front an indie rock band. Ever. But he did not care and he, just as Spinal Tap did, turned it up to ELEVEN.

I give you Death By Unga Bunga. Take them. Keep them.

DEATH BY UNGA BUNGA

Same venue, next up was one of my Must Sees,from London, another UK Buzz Band and a much touted black feminist trio called Big Joanie. I loved their single Fall Asleep and as a fan of their self proclaimed Ronettes meets Riot Girls sound, I was looking forward to seeing them. But, maybe it was the venue, maybe the belting sun (only day that week), maybe the 1pm time slot, maybe I was expecting too much, but I just did not enjoy the show. I think I was the only one. Check out their brilliant single.

https://soundcloud.com/big-joanie/

Back into the Convention Centre to see Broken Social Scene, Again. They can do no wrong. For those who do not know them. They are the best band to come out of Canada in the last twenty years. Great back catalogue to explore. Have fun.

BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE

Then Jason and I headed next door to the International Stage for what turned out to be, in retrospect, the saddest moment of the week. We went to see another much talked about UK act. The were called Her’s, a two people twin guitar pop rock sound. They were fun and obviously enjoying just playing on stage and having a great audience connection too. Some of you may know their story. A few days later, they were involved in a car crash as they made their way from Arizona to California on tour. Both band members and their manager tragically lost their lives. They were on the verge of breaking through when this horror happened.

So sad. I was not sure how best to talk about this, but I decided best thing was to share their music, and bio, so here it is. Check out their lovely lo-fi slacker music.

https://schedule.sxsw.com/2019/artists/2004581

HER’S

I headed in to the Container Bar which is just as it sounds - a bar made of stacked containers. They always have a prime line up and I manage to catch The Nude Party. Every year there is always a band who rise from the masses with a distinctive sixties sound. Their turn this year and they sounded great.

THE NUDE PARTY

To the Aussie Backyard BarB Que at Bangers Sausage Restaurant - I kid you not. Another much talked about band appearing there but not before I wasted twenty five minutes watching Two People. In hindsight I could have picked any other two people to watch and listen to and it would have been at least as interesting but I had a comfy seat and I knew the next lot would be special. They were. The two person rock theatre that are The Gooch Palms. Now that is what you want your rock stars to look like. Outrageous bordering on silly with a could not give a shit attitude. And they sounded good too.

THE GOOCH PALMS

Excitement building………

Back to the BD Riley’s Irish Bar as Fontaines D.C. were going to play there at 5pm. Now as they were officially the hottest band at SXSW we forecast that the place would be jam packed way in advance, not only because they were brilliant but also it is the annual Big Irish Breakfast party at said BDRileys with only Irish acts playing AND it was the day before the plastic paddies go crazy for St Patrick’s Day thing. So we went two bands early - first for me. One we got lucky with - Fangclub, who the acclaimed New Musical Express from the UK touted as “ a fully formed thrash pop monster, melodic, frenzied and phenomenal”. They were.

FANGCLUB

But the second were easily the worst act I had the misfortune to see ever at SXSW, a two guy Irish white hip hop trash talking piece of crap called Kojaque. It was torture. But to see Fontaines D.C. once again, in a tiny little bar was worth the pain. Fontaines D. C. were simply fantastic. Did I say I like this crowd?

FONTAINES D.C.

Evening beckons. Change of pace/genre/location/mood. The New Natives Brass Band were as far as you could get from raw Irish punks. They went out on the street to drum up support then stormed into the famous Antones venue to put on a great New Orleans brass band show. A grand time ensued.

NEW NATIVES BRASS BAND

Back to Latitude 30 to see which Uk band was packing the place out this time, It was Ferris and Sylvester, a pleasant Americana pop sound but not riveting. So on to another Church appointment, to see the gracious Laura Jane Grace, lead of the quite brilliant Against Me, put on a solo acoustic show. Laura is perhaps the most famous transgender female rock star of the current scene. To hear her stories of bullying and discrimination at the hands of school choir and church leaders, whilst performing in a church was quite cathartic. She is a gifted storyteller with a hell of a voice.

Check out Laura with Against Me as I did not capture a good video on the night, and anyway, everyone should hear this song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWB_b480-9c

LAURA JANE GRACE

And so a SXSW run began. To the Japanese Night at the Elysium to see Stereogirl. Now if a band comes from Japan and says their favorite bands are The Smiths, Joy Division, The Stone Roses, Pavement and Televison you need to give them a chance. Great show.

https://soundcloud.com/user-835890272

STEREOGIRL

Then, finally, a great Scottish band. Rascalton, I had already seen them last year at The Great Escape last year, in Brighton, England, but this was a different set up. In the great little Dive Bar that is Valhalla they put on a mental punk pop show that would not have been out of place in Glasgow in the summer of 1978. Manic. Crazy crowd - must be something to do with this venue - definitely had the most consistently great shows all week. I did see their manager try to whip up the crowd by getting their friends to crowd surf. It worked but it would have happened organically five minutes later. The joint was jumping.

RASCALTON

I had to go see Bad Sounds for the third time as I wanted to see if the home British crowd at Latitude 30 would love them to death. They did. Another great set from this lot who should be huge in about five minutes.

BAD SOUNDS

It is around 11.30 at night and I had heard that there was another phenomena to catch before she headed to world domination. Once again, there is always a couple of truly break out acts, female pop diva/disco dance indie queens who make their mark and go on to greater things post SXSW - last year I saw Billie Eilish in a church for example. This year I had yet to see one that stood out. Could it be Miss World? One half of also acclaimed Shit Girlfriend? Well it was a good show and her single Put Me In A Movie was brilliant live, but I do not think she is the one.

MISS WORLD

Another stable of Austin is the Tucson music scene visiting and this time it was the band XIXA led by Gabriel Sullivan who I seem to see play SXSW every year but always with a different band.(Al, you remember this guy don’t you?) This time he has a sound described by one local radio station as "A deep groove of untamed cumbia, with a side of blistering spaghetti western soundtrack”. And here is what a band wearing more leather than you thought existed sounds like. Pleasant enough.

https://soundcloud.com/xixa_tuxon/the-code

XIXA

It is now midnight on the second last day of SXSW 2019. The moment demands greatness. The moment delivers. To Palm Door on Sabine to see the quite sensational Sir Babygirl. Remember what I said barely a minute ago - "there is always a couple of truly break out acts, female pop diva/disco dance indie queens who make their mark and go on to greater things post SXSW”. Well this is the one. Sir Babygirl is the one!!! She says it best herself- The pseudonymme of DIY pop diva/producer Kelsie Hogue, Sir_Babygirl is unabashedly bubblegum, unashamedly queer pop for a future free of genre boundary and the gender binary. Sir_Babygirl is clearly, queerly the future of pop

Just great dance pop anthems. She asked all gay and transgender folk to raise their hands and the room which was already wild went up a notch, then she invited all straights to do so too, before inviting two livewires dancing at the edge of the stage to join her - none other than the mum and dad!!! This was one of the two happiest fun shows of the week!! Loved it. This is the pop music I want to hear all over the airwaves.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0c71QCx4ug

SIR BABYGIRL

Last show of the day, 1am, and back to Swan Dive to see another of my picks of the week. They are Pottery. I put them on my list simply because they said that they bonded growing up in Montreal with a mutual love affair with Orange Juice, Josef K and Devo ( and for those who do not know it, Orange Juice and Josef K are both from Glasgow, were on the wonderful Postcard Record label and from 1979 through 1982 were two of the leading lights of jangly indie rock). So Pottery made my list. They also made the night with a fairly blistering set which sounded like it actually came from that late seventies scene. Plus, they dressed well with odd haircuts, a bonus. And, they must be on to something as they have just been announced as the support band for Fontaines DC when they play the States in September!!

POTTERY

It is 2am and I need to go to sleep but another great day. Highlights galore. Yes, Fontaines D.C. and Bad Sounds, of course but also Laura Jane Grace, Rascalton and especially the last two shows of the evening Sir Babygirl and Pottery.

As the classic indie rock musical Les Miserables liked to say: “One Day More!!”.